Words for Water is a gathering place for people who value the Lake Superior Basin and its fragile ecosystem. On this edition of the Lake Superior Project, Mary Dougherty explores the idea of "speaking" for the largest fresh-water lake in the world.

Memorial Blood Centers invites all eligible blood donors to roll up their sleeve and give blood at one of three Cook County locations in March.

Every 2 seconds someone needs blood–from heart transplant and cancer patients to accident victims. The need for blood is constant, but the supply is not. Only volunteer blood donors can make a life-saving difference to someone in need.

Patients in local hospitals depend on Memorial Blood Centers to be there with the right blood type they need to survive. All types are needed—especially O negative (O-) and O positive (O+).

Step up to give blood at a blood drive in your neighborhood and help save lives. Donating blood is convenient and safe when you are healthy and well.

While walk-in donors are always welcome, we encourage appointments to be made in advance. To register for a blood drive, go online to www.MBC.org or contact the sponsoring organization directly.

The first blood drive will be March 2 at Zoar Lutheran Church (next to Mike’s Holiday) from 2:30 - 6 p.m. To sign up, call Carla at (218) 663-0179.

Another blood drive will be March 3 at the Cook County Senior Center, sponsored by St. John’s Catholic Church, 10 North Broadway in Grand Marais from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment to donate blood on that date, contact Kay Sivets at (218) 387-2262.

And finally on March 4, Memorial Blood Center will be at Cook County High School, 101 West 5th Street, in Grand Marais from 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. To donate, contact Pam at (218) 387-2273 ext. 604.

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This local news is provided by Cook County News-Herald. Visit the community newspaper at www.cookcountynews-herald.com

With plans coming together to expand and renovate the Cook County North Shore Hospital and Care Center, the hospital board has been holding long board meetings, and the one it held from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 19 was no exception.

One of the things the board learned was that the cost of the project is going to be higher than anticipated. For the past year the board has been working with a $20.5 million estimate, but the new projection is that when everything is completed it will cost more in the range of $22.5 million

There are several reasons for the increase, but the biggest expense will be buying a new generator that can supply all of the power to the hospital and care center in case the power goes out, said Mark Walch of Boldt Construction, who was on hand to explain the build out process and costs to the board.

Rebecca Lewis of DSGW architects was also there, and she reminded the board that they had recently added several new items to the list that exceeded the estimated $20,890,367 price tag.

Those items include spending $75,000 for lift supports in the care center remodel; $60,000 for a drive up canopy; $30,000 to increase hospital room sizes; $248,724 to build a two-stall ambulance garage, and $450,000 for new boilers.

There were other reasons the estimate has risen, said Walch. Higher costs than first projected are expected in demolition work, concrete and masonry, interior finishes, millwork and earthwork.

There was a great deal of discussion of the financing of the project, with many questions by hospital board members and reassurances by financial advisors that funding would be available.

If financial details are worked out project bidding will be in May with an expected ground breaking in late May or early June for the two-year project.